Back To Base
by Basmathgirl
Summary: Donna and the Duplicate Doctor have been dumped together on Earth after the Doctor has gone off with Rose at the end of an alternative JE. So...erm...what do you do if you're half human, half Time Lord? Things could get complicated.
1. Chapter 1

**Warning:** Contains a swear word or two; all quite mild.

**Summary:** Set at the end of an alternative version of JE, the Doctor has gone off with Rose and dumped Donna with his Duplicate on Earth.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except the ideas in my head.

* * *

><p><strong>Back to Base<strong>

**Part 1**

.

"Well," the duplicate Doctor exclaimed.

"Well," Donna replied; because truly, how else could you reply?

They'd been asked to leave the TARDIS while the Doctor swanned off to goodness knew where with Rose. The course of events had been that Jackie had been returned to Bad Wolf Bay, the Doctor had fired up the TARDIS to head for Chiswick, and then it was good night Vienna!

Both of them idly picked at the blades of grass they sat on, too embarrassed to look at each other for long. One of them would have to break the silence first. Any moment now. Once they'd examined their finger nails, shifted about a bit, and got soaking wet in the rain that was teeming down.

"Aren't you two coming in?" demanded a voice from the front porch of Sylvia's home.

"Gramps!" Donna cried out with joy; hoisting herself up and racing into his waiting arms. "Oh Gramps," she whimpered into his shoulder.

"What's the matter, my girl? You did it, I see," Wilf said with glee. He pulled back slightly to lift her face and look her in the eye. "Why the tears? What's happened? Anything your old Gramps can help with?"

"He left me!" she wailed. "As soon as he saw her he didn't want me anymore. He dumped us here on the doorstep."

Wilf threw his stunned gaze onto the duplicate Doctor. "Doctor? Why don't you want my Donna anymore?"

"Oh no! That wasn't me!" the duplicate Doctor tried to defend himself.

"It wasn't him, Gramps. This isn't _The_ Doctor, this is his duplicate," Donna explained. "I sort of created him by accident; and now he's been chucked out like I have."

The duplicate Doctor stood dripping forlornly. "Can we go inside and explain this fully?" he asked wetly.

"Certainly!" Wilf immediately decided and ushered them in to the warmth and dryness of the house.

An hour later everything had been described and explained whilst they sat drinking tea in the lounge and Sylvia had rustled up a supper of cheese on toast. "But why did he throw you out? I don't understand," Sylvia attempted to reason out the situation. "You make it sound like there is plenty of room on the TARDIS for you all."

"Would you want to continually play gooseberry?" Donna asked. "No, me and Andy here just got in the way; and I don't know about you, but I don't want to witness a load of romantic slush."

"Definitely not," agreed the duplicate Doctor.

"In that case, I'd better make up the spare bed," Sylvia stated. "Shame. That girl seemed nice as well."

Both Donna and the duplicate Doctor shared a grief stricken look. It had been a long day, taking loads out of them physically and emotionally. They sagged towards each other in mutual consolation.

"I'll go get you some pyjamas, Doctor," Wilf told him, noting their sudden exhaustion. "We'll sort everything else out in the morning."

Left on their own in the lounge, the duplicate Doctor asked, "Is that my name now?"

"What is?" Donna asked in return blearily.

"Andy. You called me 'Andy'," he told her.

She gave a shrug. "Seems as good a name as any other. What did you want to be called then?"

He gave a shrug back. "No idea. Andy will do for now."

"Come on then, Andy No-name," Donna teased him as she stood up. "Let's get some sleep, and then we'll worry about everything else in the morning."

He gave a wide yawn, and looked shocked. "That was new!" he remarked.

"Get used to it, Earthboy," Donna replied, and yanked on his hand to lead him up to bed.

* * *

><p>"Donna!" Wilf spoke in a stage whisper as she later crossed the landing to her bedroom. "Have I got this right? You and him have to live together for the rest of your life or you go kaboom?"<p>

"That's right, Gramps. We're stuck with each other until kingdom come," she replied.

"A bit like a marriage if you ask me," he drily commented.

That hurt, but Donna hid the pain of hearing the familiar remark. "Yeah, poor bloke is stuck with me for a while when he..."

"When what?" Wilf gently pressed for the answer.

"Let's just say that the Doctor wasn't the only one in love with a certain blonde," she whispered, worried that Andy could hear her.

"Oh!" Wilf uttered in understanding. "How you gonna fix that?"

"I have no idea," admitted Donna. "How do you mend a broken heart?" And they shared a knowing grimace.

* * *

><p>The first thing Donna did was to sign them up with a temping agency, contacted a few letting agents to find out about a possible flat to rent, and then sorted through her drawers to find a credit card to flash about getting Andy some new clothes. He was surprised to learn he quite liked clothes shopping. One up to Donna!<p>

"What surname do you want?" she asked him as her hands hovered over the computer keyboard. "The temp agency can't place someone just called Andy; it's too vague."

The only ones that sprung to mind immediately made him think of the TARDIS and the life he was being denied. With a sorrowful sigh, he answered, "Just call me anything you like. I'm not bothered."

Donna knew that look; and she also knew he needed a distraction. "How about Newman? Then you'd be A. Newman!" She was relieved to see him snicker. "Seriously though; what sounds good with Andrew?"

"Hmm. Andrew Depp. Andrew Noble. Andrew Lord. Andrew Jackman. Andrew Lloyd Webber; I don't know!" he huffed impatiently at her. "It depends what relationship we're going for."

"How the heck does that make a difference?" she demanded. "We're not passing each other off as husband and wife, so you can pick whatever you flipping like!"

He scowled back at her. "Yes, I am aware we are friends, but if we are going to continue to live together, shouldn't we have the same surname?" he considered carefully.

Donna scoffed at him. "What century do you think we live in, Sunshine? People live 'in sin' all the time now. And these days people are just as likely to assume you are gay if you share with a woman."

"They do what?" He looked terribly affronted. "I assure you I am NOT gay!"

She gave his knee a consoling pat. "I know you aren't, sweetheart. But you never know." She almost managed to hold in a giggle, but his pout pushed her over the edge. "Okay, seeing as you're worried about it, I shall put you down as Andrew Noble. You can always change it later by deed poll," she said with a smile.

"Dr Andrew Noble," he amended her with an answering smile; and they gleefully typed away.

* * *

><p>It was a rough first month of adjustment. So much of it was new for Andy; especially the whole living under Sylvia's roof business. The not choosing when you eat, go out to work, where you slept; all of it taxed his patience. Living with Donna was already well established in his mind, and he missed the capacity to be just 'them'. They'd signed a contract and would soon be in their own flat, doing their own stuff whenever they wanted to. He couldn't wait!<p>

Not that Sylvia had been anything but welcoming with him. It helped that he came with a readymade sob story. Talking of which, he missed the hugs and cuddles from Donna. Boy did he miss them! She'd shied away from him so much since they'd landed on this planet, and he wanted nothing more than for her to comfort him like she used to. But that was the problem, wasn't it? It hadn't been him she had offered all that comfort to. It had been the original Doctor.

He often found his fists balling up at the thought of him, and the urge to punch the Doctor's lights out overwhelmed him. Yes, he understood that he needed to learn certain restraints, but he didn't deserve to be punished for them! Was Donna being punished because of his actions too? They'd avoided talking about it since that night, and he understood that, he really did. It hurt too much. He just wished he could have Donna back as the best friend he knew she was. Perhaps things would be better once it was back to being the two of them again. He hoped so; otherwise it was going to be a lonely lifetime.

Surprisingly, working in an office hadn't come as such a hardship. Once they'd hacked into official records and sorted him out a birth certificate, a National Insurance number, and National Health records, it had been easy to gain a 100 wpm reputation like Donna had. Her memories had proven to be very helpful. And he found that he later liked working in IT support; it earned him good money too. Donna had smiled proudly at him the first time he gained a wages slip, and for the first time since they had been dumped there he felt that things could get back on track with them.

* * *

><p>His major opportunity came the second night they spent in their new home. They didn't have much in the way of furniture; just the bare basics. "That's half the adventure," Donna told him. "We get to choose exactly what we want in our life." He wasn't sure she chose to have that nightmare.<p>

The screams woke him from his own fitful sleep; and he raced to wake her from her private hell. "What is it Donna," he softly crooned as he pulled her sleepy form into his comforting embrace. "Tell me."

"They had me! They were going to throw me out into the Xtonic sunlight!" She clung to him desperately as her tears soaked into his pyjama jacket.

He made shushing noises. He knew this memory all too well. Without thinking, he climbed into the bed and hugged her closely. "They can't do that now. Not while I've got you," he told her.

"Don't leave me!" she howled. "Please don't ever leave me!"

"I promise," he murmured into her hair, and gently rocked her until they both fell into a blissful sleep. In fact, it was the best sleep he had personally ever had. He was right back where he wanted to be.

"Hello," he had softly said when they opened their eyes the following morning. "I've missed this." He flicked his gaze down to their snuggled position to emphasise his words. He hadn't expected Donna to burst instantly into tears in reply. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you," he cooed at her.

"It's not that," she managed to say between sobs. "You've done nothing wrong; nothing at all. It's me! I'm such a bitch!"

She buried her face in the crook of his neck then, while he tenderly stroked her hair. "No, you're not," he assured her. "You're the best friend a man could have."

"Not good enough for an alien though," she sobbed.

He cradled her head and forced her to look him in the eye. "He is an idiot! Do you hear me? To turn away the most important woman in all creation beggars belief; but he did it and we have to somehow forgive him for it. I don't want you upsetting yourself because that oaf doesn't know his arse from his elbow."

Donna tried to chuckle. "How can you be so forgiving when he's nabbed the girl you wanted? You amaze me!" she admitted.

"She was never mine; let's be honest here. And she would never have chosen me over him; I know that. It's a like it or lump it situation. Plus," he paused for dramatic effect, "I have a little bit of Donna Noble in with the mix that makes me amazing!"

"Geroff!" she spluttered. "You're just saying that."

"It's true," he insisted. "Do you ever think we'll get over this? The being dumped here thing, I mean."

"I hope so," she answered honestly. "It hurts so much, and I miss the TARDIS; probably not as much as you do…"

"I know," he said with a sad sigh. "Our connection with her makes that especially awful. Aw, I'm sorry Donna for getting us chucked out! I really am! I messed everything up for you, and now you're stuck with living a mundane life with a person you can't live without but need to escape from."

She took in his grim expression, his regretful tone of voice, and his desperate demeanour. Wanting to ease his pain, she lifted a hand to smooth his cheek. "Hey! Stop making yourself sound like the wicked fairy," she admonished him softly. "You made the right decision at the right time under extenuating circumstances. Don't beat yourself up over it. I'm sorry if I've been taking it out on you; but I miss him when I don't want to slap him into next Tuesday. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I do," he whispered back, and pulled her into a deep hug. "Ditto."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **I am truly sorry if this news upsets some readers (and I'll understand perfectly if you stop reading at this point) but this story does not actually include Rose, but merely mentions her. Instead, it deals with Donna and Andy coping with their life.

* * *

><p><strong>Part 2<strong>

.

Work that day didn't turn out too bad, but Andy couldn't wait for it to be over. He was anxious to get home to Donna and see how she was. He hoped she was feeling better after her emotional breakdown that morning, and on the other hand he sort of hoped she wasn't… He wanted to get the chance to cuddle with her again. He hated himself for feeling that way, but the truth was that he did! It had been too long since he'd had any emotional release himself, and he'd missed it.

Tentatively he placed his key in the front door lock and turned it. As soon as the door opened he was greeted by cheerful music and the smell of something cooking. "Oh honey I'm home!" he called out cheekily.

Donna's head dipped around the open kitchen door and grinned at him briefly. "Still playing the tart I see," she commented. "How does sausages sound?"

"In what language?" he asked, and she swatted his arm in mock annoyance.

"At least you didn't say 'bang' I suppose," she pondered, and reached for the kettle. "Had a good day?"

"Not bad," he replied, setting out their two mugs on the kitchen worktop. He turned and dipped to get out the milk from the fridge. "Heard from your mum?"

"Not yet. I have a horrible feeling she's going to pay us an unexpected visit." She switched the kettle on and resumed chopping onions. "Can you check the living room looks tidy?"

He raised an eyebrow in question at her. It wasn't as if there was much to make untidy, for goodness sake! "What's the real problem?" he gently asked.

She sighed, and wiped at her eyes with her sleeve due to the onion juice splashes. "Nothing… Everything! She'll come in and criticise us to within an inch of our lives."

"Well, let her then! It's not as if it matters, is it?" he pondered, pouring boiling water into the tea pot. "We haven't decided what we're doing with the place yet. I picked up the colour charts by the way."

"Did you? You're a star!" she cried, moving as though she was about to hug him.

He held his arms out, expecting her to continue, but she halted in her tracks. "You can hug me, you know. I promise not to sue you or to break in two," he said, trying to make it sound as though he was teasing her, but the hurt broke through despite his efforts. He dropped his arms. "Or not, as the case may be…"

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Yeah, I know," he replied; and deliberately focused on pouring their tea out and placed her mug near her.

"Andy…," she began to say, apologetically.

"I'm not him. I am NOT him!" he yelled. "So stop treating me as if I am. If you're angry with him, then go take it out on him!" He waggled an angry index finger in her face.

She responded by slapping him clean across the face, leaving a red handprint behind. He stumbled backwards, clearly stunned. Advancing on her, he made a throttling motion at her throat, and she cringed back in horror. Unable to believe he'd done such a thing, he stormed out and headed for his bedroom.

It was quite a pathetic bedroom, actually. It contained a single pine-framed bed, a canvas covered wardrobe and little else. Even the makeshift curtains looked sad. All he could think of asking was 'What have I done?'

* * *

><p>After about ten minutes that was a tentative knock on the door, closely followed by Donna peeping round the edge of the doorframe. "Andy? Dinner's ready," she softly stated. Getting no reply, she stepped into the room. She swept her gaze over it and him sitting mutely on the end of the bed. "I'm sorry." Her voice broke on a sob on the last syllable as she stood forlornly in front of him. "I can't do anything right."<p>

He leapt immediately up to embrace her. "No, I'm sorry. I'm touchy when I shouldn't be. Of course you don't want to hug me; any more than you'd want to hug him."

"That's not true," she countered, but she'd already ruined it by not returning his embrace.

"I think it is, Donna. You only let me near you last night because of your nightmare," he argued. "I need this," he admitted, speaking into her hair as he gave her a squeeze. "I can't go on unless I'm allowed to."

"I'll try," she mumbled into his shoulder; and she let him hold her for a few minutes more before reminding him, "Dinner will be getting cold." They broke apart then and went to eat.

* * *

><p>He was woken again by Donna screaming. This was getting to be a habit. As before, he rushed in and gently woke her; slipping in beneath the duvet cover to cuddle her into a quiet sleep. She mumbled something at him, though goodness knew what she'd actually said this time. Something about camping? All that mattered was the fact she was happy to lie within his firm embrace without trying to squirm away from him. He snuggled down next to her and fell sound asleep.<p>

He woke with a start, vaguely aware of dribbling on the pillow; he'd been having a vivid dream about hiding in a shop dressing room with Rose. And that's when it hit him. Or rather, it hit Donna, much to his everlasting embarrassment. He quickly shuffled away from her body.

"Wassa matter?" she groaned at him sleepily. "I was comfy."

"Erm… no you weren't," he tried to disagree. "That's why I moved."

She prised one eye open at him, and frowned. "You liar! You moved for entirely your own reasons, Doc-…Andy." She rapidly hoped he hadn't noticed her slipup as being too obvious. "Why did you…" And then she realised why, judging by the way he was frantically avoiding her eye line. "Feeling a little _glorious_ this morning, are we?" she asked with a sly grin.

His gaze shot to her in a panic. "Whatever do you mean?" he asked, pretending he didn't understand.

"Give over, you tart! You've got your own little sapling there." She gave him that knowing smirk that he hated. It meant she was onto him.

Knowing she'd tease him about it whether he owned up or not, he decided to tell the truth. "Alright; yes, I've got a stiffy," he huffed impatiently. "Go on; get the jokes over and done with. I know you won't leave me be until you do."

"As if I'd ever do that to you!" she exclaimed; but the effect was marred by the way she cupped his cheek and used a baby voice on him. "So, what _wood_ you like to do today? How about _erecting_ some shelves, before _coming_ to the shop to buy paint?"

"You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" He glared at her in disbelief.

"Can't say I'm enjoying it at all. You, on the other hand; or should that be in hand, once you get in the shower…," she retorted. Then to add to his discomfort she burst into laughter.

He threw back the covers. "Fine! I'll go, and you can enjoy having your bed back to yourself. Alone. Without me to comfort you."

She was about to retaliate when the worse words in the world floated in to them. "Coo-ee! Is anyone home?"

They both mouthed an expletive at each other.

Donna leapt out of the bed and stood hesitantly in the hallway, suddenly very aware she was only in her pyjamas. "Is that you, Mum?"

The letter box rattled open and two eyes peeped through at her. "Who did you expect? The Queen Mother?" griped Sylvia.

"That would explain the smell of new paint," Donna quipped. "Hang on, Mum. I need to... erm… get a dressing gown." She hastily threw a glance at Andy as he partly cowered in the bedroom doorway out of Sylvia's line of sight.

"Hurry up then," Sylvia moaned, and the letter box rattled shut.

Donna made shooing motions at Andy, who dove into the bathroom, and went to shrug on her dressing gown. "Mum!" she exclaimed as she opened the front door seconds later. "Fancy seeing you here." She plastered on her best smile.

"Yes, who'd have guessed," Sylvia replied drily. "I thought you would have been up ages ago making the most of your Saturday; what with all the decorating you said you'd have to do."

Donna decided to ignore the implied criticism. "We had a bit of a late night," she admitted. "I had one of my nightmares."

"Do you still get those?" Sylvia eyed her critically as she unpacked a Tesco bag containing a few essentials. "I got you some bread, milk because I know how you tend to forget these things, some biscuits and those cakes the pair of you go mad over."

"Thanks, Mum," Donna enthused, placing a grateful kiss on her mother's cheek.

Sylvia contemplated the kitchen. "Where is he then?" she asked and peered towards the hallway.

"I think he's having a shower," Donna answered as nonchalantly as she could. "He won't be long."

Sylvia's expression softened at the thought of him. "He's good for you. Yes, I like your Andy," she said.

"Mum, he isn't mine," Donna exasperatedly pointed out; fully aware of how familiar this was starting to sound.

"Does it matter? You got him," Sylvia retorted. "She didn't."

'Yeah, cos that makes it _so_ much better! Bully for me,' Donna thought. Instead she sighed. "If she waltzed in here right now he'd follow her like a shot. There's no doubt in my mind."

Sylvia patted Donna's hand as it lay on the worktop. "You might be wrong about that. Call it woman's intuition if you like," she appeased Donna.

"I'd call it delusional!" Donna snorted. "Mum, he pined after her for, what, two or three years in all. A couple of months with me won't make an 'a' pence of difference. I doubt he'll ever get over her."

"As long as you try, love, for his sake," Sylvia tried to sooth her. "He needs you."

"Yeah, I know," Donna quietly answered, resolving to push aside her own needs to focus on him.

"Hello Sylvia!" Andy greeted her. He stood swathed in towels, looking very anxious. He did a token gesture of drying his hair. "I'll be out in a sec!" With that he disappeared into his bedroom.

"At least he gives you plenty to look at," Sylvia commented, grinning knowingly at Donna.

"Oh yes! There is that," Donna replied with a laugh. The sight of him completely naked wasn't something she'd forget in a hurry. "Tea, Mum?" she asked expectantly, and bustled about dealing with that.

* * *

><p>The rest of their day wasn't too bad. Wilf popped in at the end of the afternoon to bring them some vegetables from his allotment. That's what he claimed anyway, but they weren't fooled. As they gave him the grand tour of the two bedroomed flat, Wilf casually remarked, "Two separate beds, eh? I thought you would have been sharing."<p>

Both Donna and Andy were mortified by that remark; it was not helped by their mutual remembrance of continuous misunderstandings in the past. Andy just managed to choke out a "No!" But that was the only awkward moment during the visit.

* * *

><p>That evening they managed to finish two coats of emulsion of the living room wall, and they stood together to view it, immensely proud of their achievement. Donna patted Andy on the arm. "It looks good. Shall we move the furniture back tomorrow?"<p>

"Ah! I'd say 'yes' but it's all in my room, so I've got nowhere to sleep," he stated.

She coyly swept her fingers over his shoulder. "You could always sleep with me. It makes sense if I'm going to keep waking you in the night," she reasoned.

He immediately knew how much it had taken her to say those words; to open up her vulnerability to him. He smiled broadly at her. "You're right. It would save time; and you settle more when I'm there."

"Yes, I always do," she admitted, and then blushed. "I didn't want you to think…"

"I know," he answered softly, and captured her hand in his. "Shall we go to bed?"

She smiled up at him, relieved he understood. "Come on, Handy Andy. Lead the way."

That night she snuggled into him for a change, and he eagerly wrapped his arms around her. When he woke the following morning he was surprised to find that for the first time since he came into existence he hadn't dreamt of Rose. Perhaps things were improving after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I've made a joke referring to the Channel 4 programme "Countdown". If you've ever seen the film "About A Boy" you'll have an idea what I'm on about.

* * *

><p><strong>Part 3<strong>

.

He glanced at the bedside alarm clock and noted that Donna hadn't woken him once with any nightmares. Had she had any, he wondered. His movement to turn and look at the clock immediately roused her. "What's the time?" she mumbled into her pillow.

It was a good job he was fluent in mumble. "Half six," he replied. "Plenty of time to have a lie in. How did you sleep?"

"I closed my eyes and it came naturally," she replied.

"Funny cuts! I was asking about your nightmares," he griped.

She shifted against him, and he was alarmingly aware of the press of her body next to his. She propped herself up on one elbow to look down on him. "Not so bad, thanks to you," she told him. And then she completely surprised him by kissing him; on the cheek, but it had far reaching consequences, that he'd rather she knew nothing about. "What about you?" she asked him breathily; right next to his ear.

'Oh bloody hell!' he thought as her actions caused desire to pulse through him at a rate of knots. Perhaps this bed sharing lark hadn't been such a good idea after all. "I'm fine. Yes, I'm fine. Just dandy; you know." He did his level best to give her a noncommittal smile.

She snickered at him. "You've done it again, haven't you? You can't really tell you've never shared a bed with a woman before." She reached out to rub his shoulder in a consoling gesture. "Don't worry about it; it's perfectly natural."

"Not for me it isn't! I feel like a total letch! I'm not perving over you, honest I'm not," he defended himself.

"My poor baby!" Her hands worked their way up to cradling his head, and her lips were dangerously close to his again as they kissed his face. "All so new, and all so alien for you," she crooned softly.

That was the moment when he spoilt it by placing his hands on her bum and pulled her body flush with him. She must have felt every single part of him pressing up to her. Her reaction was to release him and shift away. "You'd better… go deal with that…," she stammered. "You'll be poking holes in the bottom sheet if you don't."

"Donna…," he tried to grab her attention, but she was retreating from his apology.

"Before you start, this is my fault," she cut him off. "I forget you're a man now and not… I shouldn't have physically teased you. I'll go make us some tea."

He watched her stumble out of their bed, both of them engulfed in their mutual embarrassment, and he wondered what the heck had really happened.

* * *

><p>By the time they sat and ate breakfast things were back to normal. Just to show he was willing to forget the earlier bit of nonsense, he offered to take the bin bag they'd filled up with decorating rubbish down to the communal bins. As he reached the bottom of the stairs to return home he met one of their new neighbours walking her dog. It was one of those small white dogs such people often had, with scrawny fur and a terrier type face. "Morning!" Andy greeted her as brightly as he could.<p>

She stood and considered him; her eyes looking particularly beady behind her large glasses. "Are you that new couple in number seven?" she eventually asked.

"Yes!" he replied in relief. "We moved in last Thursday. Donna said she'd always wanted to live here. The gardens have always looked lovely." He added in a bit of pointing, just in case.

"Hmm, lovely," the woman echoed.

"Where are my manners? I'm Andrew Noble, but you can call me Andy," he introduced himself, thrusting out his hand towards her. She shook it unenthusiastically. "And I live with Donna, Donna Noble. I'll have to bring her down later to introduce her to you properly... er…"

The woman looked taken by surprise. "I'm Jean," she reluctantly supplied. "Have you got any children?"

"Oh no! We… erm… no, not at the moment… no," he spluttered. That was a new experience! They'd never been asked if they had children before. "I'd erm… better go," he told her, and dashed up the stairs, and into the flat.

"Who set your trousers on fire?" Donna immediately asked when she saw how flustered he was.

He waved vaguely at the front door. "I've just met the woman from downstairs in number three. She was walking her dog," he explained, and took a gulp of air. "She wanted to know if we had any children. I don't think we've ever been asked that one before! It took me by surprise."

"It was only a question, you daft Earthboy!" She walked over and began to rub circles on his back to calm him down. "If people assume we are married then the next step is to assume we have children. Didn't you know that?"

He shook his head at her in reply. He was enjoying having her comfort him. Their outburst had done some good after all. "Why would she assume we are married?" he lamely asked.

"I take it that you told her our names; our full names?" she queried.

"Of course! That's how I always introduce us," he haughtily replied.

"Well that would be it then! Same name equals marriage in people's minds. You wanted conformity when you chose Noble, and you got it! So don't complain," she told him.

"I did that so that you wouldn't be thought of as a harlot," he protested.

"And it was terribly sweet of you," she said, tenderly stroking his cheek. "My knight in shining armour."

He blushed with embarrassed joy. "I only did what any decent man would do." He loosely wrapped his arms around her.

"Ah, but that's the point. There aren't many decent men about anymore. You are a very special person," she said.

"How special?" he asked, leaning in towards her.

She pondered that for a few seconds. "Special enough to deserve those cakes Mum bought you, with a cup of tea."

He tightened his embrace. "That is _very_ special. Do I get anything else from you?"

She flickered her gaze downwards for a second. "The reason for another cold shower if you're not careful! You don't want to wear certain parts out before you get the chance to use them properly." She gave him a saucy smirk.

"Does that mean you think I will get a chance?" he asked with a disarmingly cheeky grin.

"I might be able to arrange something. Shall I go through my address book later to see if we can pick someone out for you?" she asked.

He had an overwhelming desire to yell 'No!' at her, but he couldn't put his finger on why. Taking a deep breath, he answered, "Why not? It might do me some good."

They parted then to make that promised tea.

* * *

><p>Donna plumped the last cushion on the settee whilst Andy adjusted a photo of Wilf and a very young Donna on the mantelpiece. "Wasn't it lovely of your grandfather to get us a copy of that as a welcoming gift?" he mused, smiling at it fondly.<p>

"You know, you can call him 'Gramps' now if you want to," Donna pointed out. "I'm sure he'd be delighted."

"Aw I'm sure he'd hate the idea," Andy replied with a blush. "And that would mean I'd have to call Sylvia 'Mum'."

"I'll ask her if you want me to," she offered. "She's developed quite a soft spot for you. And it's not a peat bog in Ireland."

"She has?" he declared in shocked tones. "I've no idea what I've done to deserve that."

"You've just been you," Donna suggested with a slight shrug. "Who knew miracles could happen." She sauntered over to stand next to him, and he wrapped an arm around her waist. "I'm surprised you weren't put off by the sight of me as a little kid."

"Why would I be? You were adorable! All those cute ginger curls," he enthused, beaming at her. "You're beautiful… I mean, you were beautiful."

She batted at his chest. "Hark at you with the flattery! What a shame we don't have a similar picture of you," she commented.

"Yeah," he answered with a sigh. "Still, if we ever…"

"We ever what?" she asked.

"If we ever find a boy that looks like me we'll have to nab him and take his photo," he suggested.

She scoffed at him. "We're more likely to get ourselves banged up for child snatching, you dimnoid!" She affectionately smoothed her fingers over his cheek.

He caught them with his free hand, and kissed her fingertips. "Would that be for escaping from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?" He smirked at her, and she couldn't help returning it.

"Crimes against cars, eh?" she asked.

"Better than crimes of love, or crimes of passion," he countered.

"Amounts to the same thing judging by most of the blokes I've known," she retorted.

"Oh yeah? Don't you lump me in with that bunch of losers. I'm made of sterner stuff," he boasted.

"You wish!" She snorted at him.

He pushed his face at her. "I know so, Donna Noble! You forget I have an enviable pedigree."

She burst out laughing. "Isn't that sexy? My man is a pedigree dog."

"I'm your man, am I? When did I become that?" He was having too much fun now to let go of her.

"When I became your owner, Fido!" She stepped back as if anticipating something from him, and shrieked as he gave chase. "Now then; stay! There's a good boy!" she playfully ordered him.

* * *

><p>He caught her in the bedroom, well; he almost caught her in the bedroom. They sort of hovered either side of the bed, eyeing each other cautiously. "You can't escape from me, you know," he warned her.<p>

"Oh yeah?" she asked gleefully. "I'm over here and you're over there."

"Not for long," he told her, and stepped up onto the bed. "I'll catch you now!"

She screamed with delighted horror and ducked away from his hands, shaking her head at him. They were both giggling like idiots by the time he had her pinned up against the wardrobe. "Can't… breathe…," she stammered out.

"I'm not falling for that one! If I let you go you'll just run off," he answered, panting heavily.

She shook her head. "Won't," she responded. "I'll prove it to you."

He eyed her suspiciously. "If I let you go and you do a runner, I claim naming rights for your punishment."

"What do you want me to do?" she lifted her chin to ask him, knowing he'd have problems focusing once she did that.

"I…," he faltered as he became captivated by her full, ripe lips that looked ready to be plucked by him. "I…"

"I'll have a consonant please, Carol," she quipped. "I've got enough vowels."

"Ah, but can you solve the conundrum?" he joked back. He would have said something else, but she rubbed her nose along his, and he almost lost complete control. All he managed instead was to groan at her.

Her eyes shot open wide in surprise. "Did you just groan at me? Why the hell did you do that?"

His expression almost crumpled. "Donna! You know why. You did something to me," he admitted. "Oh bloody hell! This is agony! How do human men cope?"

She felt really bad then for teasing him so. "Not very well," she sympathised, rubbing his neck and shoulder in what she hoped was a safe way. "It's just a passing fancy. You'll get over it; I promise, once you learn how to control it."

"How do I do that?" he demanded. But Donna's answer was interrupted by the front door being knocked on. "Who the hell is that?"

"I'll find out," she offered, and dodged under his arm to race open the door. She was greeted by the sight of a woman of advanced age wearing owlish glasses. "Can I help you?" Donna greeted her.

"Yes," the woman replied. "I was talking to your husband this morning, and I don't like to complain but…" She then spotted Andy and addressed her query to him. "Can you two keep your sex life a bit quieter, please? I couldn't hear Antiques Roadshow."

"Sorry, Jean," Andy immediately apologised. "We were just messing about. We'll keep it down in future."

"Thanks!" She nodded gratefully at them both, and then made her way back down the stairs.

They waited politely for her to disappear from earshot before bursting into self-conscious laughter against the closed door. "Now _that_ is one I'm _not_ telling Mum," Donna giggled.

"Definitely not," he readily agreed. "Now about your punishment…"


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4**

.

"Morning, Donna!" Tracey trilled as she entered the office Monday morning. "How was your weekend?"

"Pretty good," replied Donna, grinning broadly. "We got most of the painting done."

Tracey gasped. "I'd clean forgot about your big move! You must be really relieved to escape from your mum's again after all this time."

"I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel good to have my own place," Donna told her as she bent to switch her terminal on. "Andy was like a big kid about it; but then what's new?"

Tracey gave her a slow smirk. "Does your Andy need some help to get his room as he wants it? I could come round tomorrow if he likes." She didn't miss the blush that suddenly appeared on Donna's cheeks at the mention of her houseguest.

"I'll pass your offer on," Donna answered as nonchalantly as she could. She wasn't going to blurt out that Andy had hardly spent any time at all in his own room, was she? That was for them to know and others to find out. Her mobile phone started playing an annoying ringtone at her, but her demeanour changed once she answered it. "Hello! Where are you?... No silly!... I'm fine; just been talking to Tracey…. She's offered to help you get your room looking nice… No, she didn't mean like that!... You tart!... Yes I will tell her… Erm, I think it was in the washing machine… As if my intention was to keep you in your underpants, you saucy sod!... Don't you dare touch my bras!... Why you…. Now now, you'll have Jean complaining again… That was totally your fault!... It was!... Not listening!... Oh, Andy? Can you pick up… yes, great minds think alike, obviously.,, Stop it! See ya later. Bye!" And with that she shut off her phone. She caught Tracey's interested gaze. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"No reason," Tracey hastily replied. "You do realise that your phonecall was pretty incriminating, don't you?"

"They wouldn't sack me for that, surely!" Donna argued. "It was just a quick phonecall!"

"You are so oblivious!" Tracey teased, and ducked from the screwed up paper ball Donna aimed at her.

* * *

><p>The next couple of weeks whizzed by as they settled into their new home and their newly adopted relationship. Every night they snuggled up together, offering each other support, and most mornings Andy escaped before Donna noticed his predicament. Well… they pretended she hadn't noticed. In fact she found it highly amusing!<p>

He hadn't told Donna about his dreams; he knew she'd be appalled if he confessed the dramatic change in them. Well, perhaps 'dramatic' was too harsh a word, but they had changed. The feel of Donna's body in bed was understandably affecting him in all sorts of new and interesting ways; ways that aided and abetted several daydreams too. In some respects he was happy she had replaced and surpassed Rose during those all too vivid and lurid dreams in the night; and in other ways it was beyond excruciating! Andy made a mental note to ask Donna to consult her address book for him after all; once he'd sorted some other stuff out first.

* * *

><p>Once they had chosen all the furniture and appliances they could need, Andy had shifted his attention onto building a sonic screwdriver of his own. The pieces he needed had been relatively easy to track down during the quieter moments of dealing with computer problems. The annoying part was getting to the relevant places to pick the pieces up; especially as he had to wait until a job came up that necessitated him travelling anywhere near the required place. He filled his spare moments drawing out his blueprints for various devices once he had a functioning sonic; and his main thought had been the means to grow their own TARDIS. They both knew it would take years, but a little forward planning would never go amiss. He never admitted to himself that he was avoiding his daydreams.<p>

Donna crept up behind him as he worked on designing his latest project, and slipped her arms around his neck. "Come to bed," she whispered into his ear. "You can finish that another day."

He leant back into her embrace, and sighed happily. "When you're like this I can almost believe you mean it," he said.

"What makes you think I don't?" she playfully asked.

"What makes me think it," he repeated, grabbing her arm and using it to steer her into his lap. "Oh I don't know. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact you are an eternal tease who loves to goad me into a reaction? I'm sure you want to kill me."

"What are you on about? You can't die from an erection! Have you been watching Jeremy Kyle again?" Her eyes almost danced with mischief.

"No!" he retorted, and quirked an eyebrow at her. "Though what this has got to do with that sanctimonious anti-doctor Phil is beyond me."

"You're straying off the point, my little Earthman," she replied, delighted to get a defensive reaction to the word 'little'. "Why don't you just tell me what the problem is, and then I can help you."

"I've got to come clean here. I think I'm in lust with you," he admitted.

"Ah, that most flattering of emotions: lust. It has haunted me for many a year." She then swept her gaze down onto her chest and then back to him.

"Donna! I'm being serious here! It isn't about your chest… well, it is, but not just your…," he gestured faintly towards her breasts, "thingies… but the whole deal."

"Is that a new euphemism for sex? Because that's a new one on me," she challenged him.

"Just forget I said anything." He dejectedly shooed her off his lap. "I'll meet you in bed."

She shuffled over to him as soon as he got into bed. "I'm sorry for not taking you seriously," she apologised. "I can't help making fun of situations when things get a bit too personal."

"I know," he replied. "But it doesn't make it easy to cope with when I'm trying to be totally honest."

"I'm listening now," she reassured him. "Tell me anything you like."

"In that case, I'd like to tell you that things have changed for the better; that I don't dwell on the things I used to. I'm happy with you." He snuggled into her more. "Your turn."

"Me? Oh erm... Yes, I admit I've loved being here with you. It just seems to get better and better. I don't think I have ever felt this way about someone." She brought a hand up to stroke his sideburn. "Now what?"

"Let's try something new in that case. It might work for us; it might not," he reasoned.

Unable to speak for fear of spoiling it, she edged her mouth near to him, tilting her face slightly. He met her halfway with a soft press of his lips, keeping them close by to see how the land lay. With an inpatient gesture she grasped his head, and kissed him properly, their lips moved over the other's as they tentatively enjoyed the sensations. By mutual agreement they opened to deepen their kisses. By the time their tongues swept over each other he was comfortably settled between her legs as they sought out flesh to caress.

"I think you have a steering problem," she told him, as she felt him prod her hard in her stomach.

"What?" he barely got out as she rolled over him until she was straddling him. He gurgled and then groaned when she ground against him. "I want you," he panted.

"Andy! ANDY!" Donna yelled in his ear. "You fell asleep on your desk again! What is wrong with you? We've got a perfectly good bed to sleep in."

He snorted before jumping fully awake. "What? I thought I _was_ in bed."

"Is that your subtle way of saying our mattress is too hard?" she asked, placing her hands under his armpits to encourage him to get up out of his seat. "Come on sleepyhead; let's get you where you belong."

He blinked blearily down at her, and leant heavily on her shoulder. "Was I asleep for long? Sorry, I didn't mean to."

She sighed. "Who'd have thought you'd abandon me for a set of blueprints? I never realised how interesting I am."

They'd reached the bedroom at this point, and he sat heavily down onto the bed. "It's not like that! You know it isn't. I'm trying to grow our baby TARDIS quicker." He grasped her hands and pulled her down next to him. "I want to give you time and space again; put us back among the stars where we belong."

Donna wiped away the tears that had suddenly welled up at his thoughtfulness and sincerity. "In that case I'd better give you a home for the time being."

"You already do," he whispered into her hair as they clasped each other; so she sobbed some more.

* * *

><p>The next day she was nattering with Jean at the bottom of the stairs when he arrived home. Jean had taken to almost leaping out and coercing Donna into a conversation; it was a good job Donna recognised the clear symptoms of someone suffering from loneliness otherwise she'd have dismissed her like other people apparently did.<p>

"Hi honey, I'm home!" he trilled, enjoying their now established jokey welcome.

"Hello you! You look more pleased with yourself than normal. What have you been up to?" she asked, lightly kissing his cheek.

He indicated towards his messenger bag. "I picked up a little something special for our baby this afternoon. I can't believe I managed to find it!" he happily told her. "Oh hello Jean. How are you?"

Jean appeared to be wrestling with something mentally. "I'm fine thanks. Are you fine, Donna?"

Donna looked back at her with suppressed surprise. "Erm… yeah, I'm still fine." She reached out and wove her arm around Andy's. "I'd better get on with some dinner, so we'll see you later, Jean."

"What was the matter with her?" Andy asked Donna as soon as they shut their front door behind them. "Why is she obsessed with your health? Did you have a funny turn? Is your head okay?" He observed her anxiously.

"Don't you start!" she retorted, batting away his good intentions. "She was alright until you turned up and then she went all weird." She paused for a second. "You don't think she fancies you. Do you?"

He chuckled. "Don't be daft! Who'd fancy me?"

"Do you want a list? There's quite a few where I work at the moment," she answered, glad to see another chance to tease him.

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "How many is 'quite a few'? Enough to set up a fan website and a helpline?" he queried.

"Not enough to trample me in the stampede to get to you. Or have I got footprints all over my back?" She turned to give him a view of her creamy flesh revealed by her low-cut summer top and her nicely rounded posterior, he noted.

He laid a hand on her shoulder blade and rubbed a thumb absently on her skin. "Nope, no footprints yet." He leant forward and sniffed. "Just a hint of delicious."

Donna felt the flush creep up her cheeks. "Make the most of it; you won't get anything delicious for dinner," she quipped.

She hadn't been prepared for him to suddenly wrap himself around her, and whisper seductively into her ear, "What about dessert? Anything could happen after dinner."

Oh my god! He needed to come with a health warning! "I bet you say that to all the girls," she lamely answered, trying not to notice how close his hands were to her breasts. He was almost within cupping distance; and all it would take would be to grind her bottom against his groin to encourage him.

"Why would I bother with them? I've got you in my arms. Just you wait until later tonight; I should have something spectacular to show you," he continued to talk low into her ear, smoothing away all her doubts.

'Let's push him over into snogging me senseless,' she decided. "Spectacular? How amazing are you going to get?" she leant back to ask, exposing her neck for any possible lip attack.

"It won't be me exactly that'll be amazing," he confessed, releasing her. "I told you I picked up that component I was after, so I can finally finish my sonic screwdriver! That's terrific, huh?"

He was clearly extremely pleased with himself; and she knew she should be pleased too, but instead her heart sank. "Yeah, terrific," she echoed. Her heart sank even more when he bound away in his excitement.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5**

.

He clipped in the last infinitely small spring before replacing the cover to switch his device on. There was a slight delay and then the sonic screwdriver sprang into life, emitting a magnificent blue glow that uplifted his heart. "DONNA!" he shouted with pure joy.

She was by his side like a shot. "Did it work?" she asked expectantly.

He nodded enthusiastically at her, unable to find the words to express his unadulterated happiness. He then danced a little jig before sweeping her in his arms and twirling her around. "Oh yes!" he finally managed to squeal as he let her feet touch the ground.

"You wonderful, brilliant beauty!" Donna exclaimed, and grabbed his head. She planted a kiss firmly onto his lips.

He instantly responded by grasping her head in a similar fashion, returning her kiss. He moved his mouth hungrily over hers before slowing, taking his time to feel her beneath him, tasting and teasing in equal measures. He only stopped when she used both hands to push him away. They shared a look of horror at what they'd just done. "I'm sorry, Donna," he spluttered awkwardly.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that to you," she answered. 'What was I thinking?' raced through her mind. 'Something about gorgeous lips,' her libido treacherously replied. Using the motion of adjusting her blouse she fought to regain control of her thoughts. Poor Andy looked dejected. "Why don't you show me what else it does apart from play at being a metal Tinkerbelle?" she soothed him, placing a delicate touch on his arm.

He glanced back at the sonic as if only just remembering it was still lying on his desk. He released her, saying, "Okay. I thought the first thing we'd need it to do was boost an energy signal up to eleven and beyond."

She then listened to him happily explain and demonstrate all the settings he'd devised until bedtime.

* * *

><p>Ah, bedtime. She glared at herself in the bathroom mirror as she brushed her teeth. Bedtime could prove to be very tricky if they weren't careful. She'd accidentally pushed him into responding in a way that wasn't allowable for them; and she now deeply regretted it. What must he think of her? It must have seemed as though she was muscling in on someone else's territory. Would it be better for him if she moved out and went back to her mother's? Was that the kindest thing to do in the long run? He seemed to have forgiven her, but then he would; he was lovely like that. Her gorgeous Time Human. She instantly chided herself for using such a description. He wasn't hers for a start! Their relationship was the living equivalent of a library book on loan; she'd have to give him back one day. That thought brought tears to her eyes. She didn't want to give him back; not ever! She hated her foolish human heart for loving him so much in that moment.<p>

She splashed some cold water onto her face to try and hide the sudden redness there; she turned the light off and headed for the bedroom. He was sitting up in bed trying to read a book. The term was 'try' because he had attempted to read the same page four times and each time he got to the end he realised he had no idea what he'd just read. All he could think about was how he would cope the moment Donna appeared. She already thought he was a walking erection, and he had proved her right earlier. He _really_ hoped she wouldn't kick him out of the bed for that; anxiety was playing havoc with him.

"Is it any good?" she asked him as she slipped beneath the duvet.

"Is what any good?" he asked in confusion.

"The book," she replied, pointing to the book lying idle in his hands. "Do I assume you've read it all and on a second sitting now?"

He chuckled at the thought. "Normally that might be true, but there's something about it that doesn't quite grab my attention."

She turned the book in his hands and peered at the title. "Aren't you feeling well? I thought something with a title like 'Heliophysics: Plasma Physics of the Local Cosmos' would have you laughing in the aisles! It sounds a hoot."

"You can borrow it if you like," he offered magnanimously.

"Is it for only 'local people'?" she asked with a knowing grin. "Nah! I'll wait for the film to come out."

"Why would they make…? Oh you!" He laughed uproariously then. "On second thoughts, the ending is perfectly guessable, so don't bother."

"Do they all get shot in the end? Or does the boy get the girl?" she asked playfully as he allowed her to cuddle up against his side.

He contemplated the closed book in his hands, and then placed it on his bedside table before switching off the lamp. The light from outside in the street left a faint orange glow in the room. "It was one of those horrible Mills & Boon books where they have to shag first before they declare their love. Who does that, huh? Only idiots deny how much they love someone before doing the… erm… the deed," he faltered as he snuggled down next to her, gazing directly into her face.

"Since when did you know about such books? Have you been secretly reading my mum's stash?" she quizzed him with glee. "Who'd have thought?"

He tapped his forehead in response. "You forget. I got all that from you! All those silly romances where she gets the bloke by being his PA, making herself invaluable, healing his wounded heart, until all he can see is… her." He ended on a whisper, and gulped self-consciously.

"And all of it is total boll-arks," she added for good measure. "I've never yet met someone who had that happen in real life. As if! Cos we all know that the next bloke we talk to will be Mr Darcy in disguise."

"I think I could look good in that costume. What do you reckon?" he mused. "I've got the sideburns." He turned his head to show off his profile to her.

She reached up to madly ruffle his hair. "And that sorts out the hair style for you." She peered closely at him, ignoring his air of miffed, and added, "Yes, I think you could get away with it. Your next problem would be coping with all those swooning women."

That caught his attention. "Do you really think they'd swoon for me?" he asked hopefully.

"I don't see why not," she encouraged him. "You've got a lot going for you."

"Like what?" he pressed closer, eager to hear what she'd say.

"Well…," she pondered, changing position, "you're not too bad looking, you're smarter than the average bear, you're a good mate, and now I know how you kiss… oh!"

"Oh? Why do I get an 'oh'?" he demanded. "Are you dissing my kissing technique? I know I don't have much experience compared to some, but am I that bad?" He considered her with a fair amount of trepidation.

"No! For goodness sake, no! There's nothing wrong with the way you kiss, Andy; it was perfectly lovely," she defended herself.

"There's a 'but' in there!" he insisted. "No doubt something along the lines of 'but I would never want to kiss you again'. Go on, be honest with me!"

"I would!" she cried. "I'd definitely kiss you given the chance, and that's my honest opinion."

"Prove it," he challenged her, looming over her. "Put your money where your mouth is."

She suddenly went bashful. "That's not exactly a romantic way to carry on."

"I don't care! If you want to kiss me, I want to see you do it," he boldly told her. "That's not too much to ask, is it?"

She shook her head. "No, I suppose not," she reasoned. Bundling up her courage, she slid across the extremely small distance that parted them and brought her lips in line with his. 'Here goes,' she thought, and cautiously pressed forward to brush against his mouth. Even that tender touch caused her senses to reel; her whole body seemed to zing. She risked opening her eyes and saw that his were tightly closed, his expression was awestruck. Perhaps it was time to stop this?

He obviously didn't think so, because he engulfed her in a crushing hug and brought his mouth in contact with her once more. The effect was electrifying. As he swept his tongue along her bottom lip, tempting her to open up, allowing him taste her mouth the overriding sensation was far more than two tongues smoothing across each other would normally cause. To use a well-worn cliché, the world exploded in her mind. She could feel herself pushing against some sort of bubble, breaking through the barrier and then… then… there he was, waiting for her, welcoming her into a special world where they could commune. There was a vague physical essence for her mind to focus on; and the overriding emotion was joy; clear and utter joy!

She mentally felt him grasp her hands, that is, if she'd actually had hands at that point and he was actually doing the holding. The effect was the same on her nevertheless. _What do you think?_ he pushed at her. _Isn't this great? Just think what we can achieve now!_

_What do you mean?_ she asked lamely. _Is this permanent? I mean… have we lost the ability to speak or something?_

Peals of laughter filtered through to her; delighted, non-malicious laughter. _This is our Time Lord part doing this, Donna. Amazing or what! I had a feeling we might be able to do this, but it had to be unlocked._

_Then why didn't this happen earlier when we kissed? Shouldn't any kiss do this?_ She still couldn't believe such a thing was possible.

_Apparently not! We had to be touching in a particular way to forge the link. I'm guessing we'll be able to do this any time we like,_ he answered.

She nudged around this new cyber space, or whatever the correct term was for inside your head; but nothing different seemed to be happening. Not as far as she could tell, so she forced open her eyes.

His eyes flew open too, and gawped at her. "Did that really just happen?" he asked huskily. He coughed to relieve some of the tension in his throat.

"Yeah! Wow!" she answered him, unable to grasp properly that it had. "That's a bloody good reason to kiss you if I know anything. Seriously impressive."

He made a faint squeak of pride. "You're impressed by me?" He grinned happily.

"Well, when I say impressed, I mean I'd definitely recommend the experience to all your swooning minions," she replied.

"Does that include you?" he immediately asked.

She heard herself reply, "Nah! I don't go in for that sort of thing" before she could stop herself.

He said nothing, but a wave of hurt hit her as he shifted away, breaking direct contact with her body.

She tried saying, "Sorry" but it was as if a dark wall of silence had appeared around him. Sighing resignedly, she turned over and attempted to sleep.

* * *

><p>Donna woke feeling extremely sick and achy. Andy didn't act none too chipper either. They slunk about, carried out their morning routine almost in silence, as though they were both respecting the other's need for quiet.<p>

By the time she reached her office, Donna's head was banging. "You don't look well," Tracey greeted her. "What did you get up to last night?"

Without thinking, Donna replied, "You wouldn't believe me! It got a bit unusual between us."

That drew Tracey's attention like a dog to its dinner. "In what way 'unusual'?" She brought herself over to perch expectantly on the edge of Donna's desk. "What did you do to the lovable Andy?"

"What makes you think it was my fault? It takes two…," Donna blurted out before realising what she was saying.

"To tango." Tracey finished for her. "You didn't? Don't tell me you finally woke up to how you feel about him!"

"I already know how I feel about him," Donna protested. "He's my mate, my best mate; so don't you go getting any other ideas!"

Tracey stood up and held up her hands in mock surrender. "If that's how you want to play it, then that's fine. If you are chucking him away, do us a favour, will you? Chuck him in my direction!" she suggested, and made her way back to her own desk.

Donna didn't answer her but feigned interest in a document she had just opened up. She leant forward to let her hair cover most her flushed face just in case. Just when she thought her day couldn't get any worse she noticed there was an e-mail from her mother sitting in her inbox. She'd clean forgotten Sylvia had said she'd pop round one night in the week. Oh bugger!


	6. Chapter 6

**Part 6**

.

"Are you alright, Donna? You don't look at all well," Sylvia asked with some concern. "Go sit down and let me take over."

"No, I'm fine, Mum," Donna insisted. "I'm just a bit run down, that's all."

"Knowing you you're probably on one of those faddy diets," Sylvia admonished her. "I hope you're feeding Andy all right."

"Yes, Mum," she said with a sigh. "There is no way that man would go without food, I assure you. He loves eating too much."

"You could have fooled me, judging by the size of him," Sylvia scoffed. "He's as thin as a rake."

"Not all of us are blessed with his metabolism," Donna pointed out yet again. This was a common remark she had to fend off.

There was a noise at the front door and she made for it in relief, knowing it was Andy's key turning in the lock. The door swung open before she could quite get there, and he had begun to utter the greeting, "Hi honey, I'm home!"

He looked shocked to see her standing so close and immediately held open his arms for her, hugging her tightly when she raced forward into his embrace. "I'm sorry," she whispered into his neck.

"No, I'm sorry for sulking," he murmured back, and drew back to gaze intensely into her eyes. "I don't know what came over me." He went to kiss her, but he was rudely interrupted.

"Is that you, Andy?" Sylvia appeared beaming at the kitchen door. "Oh dear! You look as ill as Donna does. Have you given whatever it is to each other?" She considered them with some concern.

"Hello Mum," he greeted her weakly. "We seem to be sickening for some illness. Don't worry; we'll take some paracetamol or something and have an early night."

"You make sure you do," Sylvia ordered him. "We can't have you coming down with some horrible bug. Go on through and I'll bring you some tea." She then gave them a brief, fond smile and disappeared back into the kitchen.

_Who was that woman, and what have they done with your mother?_ he pushed into her mind with an affectionate tease.

_See! I told you she loves you. She'd be round here waiting on you hand and foot given half a chance,_ she giggled back at him.

He nuzzled happily into her neck, relishing the fact she was allowing him to do so. _We're back! I was so worried I'd buggered 'us' up. I've felt like crap all day._

_Me too! I never realised we could do this sort of thing. Isn't it brilliant? Like having our own secret language,_ she enthused at him.

_And all the better for sharing it with you,_ he schmoozed. The effect, however, was ruined by him winking at her.

She swatted his arm in reply. _Flatterer! Testing out lines to try on your girlfriends, huh?_

_What girlfriends? What do I want to rush and get a girlfriend for? I have everything I need right here, right now,_ he insisted.

She gave him a mock exasperated sigh. _Don't you think it's a bit sick seeing my mother like that?_

_Why you!_ he gasped in suppressed horror at the thought, and gave chase as Donna shrieked.

"Calm down you two!" yelled out Sylvia. "You'll make yourselves sick." She didn't look exactly surprised when she carried in mugs of tea on a tray into the lounge and found Andy attacking Donna with a cushion. "I'm glad that's not one of mine," she commented, and set the tray down on the coffee table.

"Thanks Mum!" she got from both of them as Donna smoothed down her trousers, Andy adjusted his cuffs, and they tried to sit together without giggling.

'They're like a pair of puppies,' Sylvia thought as she sipped her tea. "It's good to see the pair of you have a bit more colour now. I was beginning to worry." Taking a biscuit from the jar she'd also brought in, she added, "I can't stay long, as I promised I'd make Winnie a cake for our next Wednesday Girls meeting; so, do you want me to pick anything up for you, Donna?"

Donna wriggled a bit as though she was suppressing laughter. "No, I'm fine now thanks, Mum," she replied as she stole a glance at Andy. _No jokes from you, mister!_

_Wouldn't dream of it…. Unless you fancy doing something with chocolate._

'What are you up to, missy?' Sylvia wondered as she surveyed a flicker of something between them. 'Could they be finally…?' "Right I'm off," declared Sylvia as she finished her tea. "And I'll see you Sunday. Dad has given me some nice sticks of rhubarb from the allotment to make a crumble with."

"Can't wait," Andy enthused as they saw Sylvia to the door, and they said their goodbyes.

* * *

><p>As Sylvia reached the bottom of the stairs she was accosted by Jean. "Hello," Jean greeted Sylvia. "Have you been visiting your son and daughter-in-law?"<p>

Donna had already warned Sylvia to be nice, so she ignored the relationship question for now. "Yes, they've not been well. Donna was looking very peaky but our Andy soon cheered her up."

"Is she suffering from sickness much?" Jean asked conversationally.

"No!" Sylvia drew out the syllable as if the idea was daft. "Just aches and pains. Donna's not one for being sick."

Jean nodded in agreement. "Donna is lucky to escape it this time."

"Donna escapes it every time," Sylvia added.

Jean was shocked. "How many times has this happened?"

Sylvia thought carefully. "Must be loads of times now; at least three times in the last year. She's always a good patient."

"The poor girl! Thank goodness she has Andy," Jean sympathised.

"Yes, we're all glad about _that_ one," Sylvia commented. "Especially when you consider the last bloke she was with. Nothing but trouble he was. Gave me a load of lip about how I treat her; the cheek!"

"He didn't!" Jean gasped.

Sylvia sneered as she thought about the Doctor. "He was all over her like a rash, acted as though she was the best thing since sliced bread and then dumped her. If it wasn't for Andy I'm sure she'd have lost…"

"MUM!" Donna shouted down over the bannister, furious to see Sylvia gossiping about her down below. "Stop rabbiting! You've forgotten about the cake! You need to get the ingredients!"

"Alright, missy! I'm going!" Sylvia griped up at her. "See you Sunday!"

* * *

><p>Donna went back into the flat and flounced down onto the settee. Andy made his way over to sit next to her and held her hand. "What's the matter?" he asked tenderly.<p>

"It's Mum! She was telling Jean all about us; about the Doctor…" She felt tears well up as she spoke the name she'd been avoiding.

"I know it hurts still," he crooned; kissing away the individual tears that spilled out onto her cheeks despite her best efforts to control them.

"Why did…?" she began to ask, but her words were shut off by his mouth capturing hers. _What are you playing at?_ Her sadness was swept away by his action, and continuing actions with her lips.

_Kissing you,_ he answered.

_I know that bit! And very nice it is too… extremely nice! Have you been training these lips_?

He moved his head to deepen their kiss further; using his tongue to explore and caress the contours of her mouth. _These lips came with natural talent. Shall I show you what else I came with?_

Excited laughter filled his mind. _Has anything been added since you streaked for me the first time?_

_Are you saying I streaked more than once? Because I don't remember doing that! I admit that you had a taster via a trailer for quite a few mornings; and I wouldn't put it passed you to take a peek…_

He felt her huff at him indignantly. _I did not! You cheeky git! The fact is you never left anything to the imagination. I knew exactly what you wanted from me._

_I don't think you did; not all of it. Donna, I have to say…. Ow! This floor is killing my knees!_ They both broke their connection then and opened their eyes to find he was kneeling on the floor in front of her, and her back was aching in protest at being held in such an awkwardly bent position.

"Andy? Are you okay?" she asked as he rolled sideways and frowned heavily.

"Yes. I think we need to get a rug on this floor. All this hardwood is a killer!" he grouched as he rubbed his offended knees.

"That's not the only killer hardwood," she commented saucily.

He grinned wolfishly at her. "How do you fancy an early night? You look like you could do with going to bed."

She held out a hand to him and they both managed to stand up. Thinking of a possible challenge for him, she said with an accompanying wink, "Last one there is a wuss!"

* * *

><p>When Wilf came round later and got no answer to his knocking he was bewildered. He was sure Sylvia had said they were in, so he banged on the glass of the front door, "Donna! Andy! Are you in?"<p>

There were muffled sounds from within, and then Donna cautiously opened the door. "Oh it's you, Gramps!" she declared. Thank goodness it was him on his own. Chilled by the night air, she wrapped her dressing gown around her a bit more and made the belt tighter.

"You still not well? Sylvia said you might be in bed." He gave her brief hug. "Is it anything catching? You're looking awfully flushed."

"No, Gramps. We're keeping it between ourselves… it's to do with the… the erm…," she said as her voice faded away. Then to Wilf's horror her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed onto the floor.

"Donna?" he cried out, and knelt down to feel her forehead. "Andy! Where are you? It's Donna!"

Andy raced out, wearing just his pyjama trousers. He frantically checked Donna for injuries and then placed his hands on her head, seeking out her contact points. Wilf watched in fascination as Andy closed his eyes and went into some sort of meditative state. After a minute a slow smile crossed Andy's face. "It's okay Gramps; she's fine. It's a case of being overwhelmed by sensory inputs. You know the sort of thing." He stood suddenly, making Wilf lean back in response. "Tea! What we need is some tea. There's nothing like tea to perk you up." He then grinned like a demented gnome.

"Yeah, alright," Wilf decided to agree. He'd already guessed it was something to do with Andy being part alien. "What about Donna?" he asked, gesturing down at her.

"No problem!" Andy declared. He bent down and effortlessly picked her up, resting her head on his shoulder. "Let's get you back into bed," he murmured, giving her temple a quick kiss. "Can you put the kettle on?" he threw the question back at Wilf as he took Donna into the bedroom.

It was as Wilf stood filling up the kettle with water that he realised that Andy had come running out of Donna's bedroom half naked and not his own. "Well I'll be…," Wilf mumbled to himself and couldn't help chuckling as he switched the kettle on. Sylvia was right after all.

* * *

><p>The next chapter is what I classed as a "<strong>DVD extra<strong>", so if you want to skip it's more adult content and go straight onto chapter 8, then please do!


	7. Chapter 8

**A/N:** If you were avoiding the 'adult' nature of the previous part don't worry, you didn't miss any plot points (I'm pretending here that there is some plot).

**A/N2:** I needed a reason why Rose wasn't there; and the only one I could justify was an argument.

* * *

><p><strong>Part 8<strong>

.

Wilf carried a cup of tea through to Donna who lay on her bed looking as though she'd just been told off. "You don't have to do that, Gramps!" she softly chided him. "I could easily have come and got it."

"No you couldn't," Andy immediately warned her. "I'm not having you do anything that wears you out."

Wilf couldn't help noticing how right they looked together as Andy half laid on the bed with an arm draped around Donna, tenderly pushing back strands of hair from her face. It was such a loving gesture. There was an in-joke happening judging by the way she flashed a saucy grin at Andy, but Wilf decided not to ask what it was. Couples have to have their privacy after all.

"Seeing as you're still not chipper I'll head off home," Wilf told them with some regret. He didn't like to see his girl unwell, but he knew she was in capable hands. Andy obviously adored her, and Donna idolised him judging by the way she melted into Andy.

"Sorry about that, Gramps," they both said together, and then giggled at the coincidence.

"Yes, I'm sure you are!" Wilf chuckled. Just as Sylvia said; they acted like a pair of puppies. He made his way to the front door. "Anything you want, just give me a bell," he told Andy as he left the flat.

"Will do, Gramps," Andy cheerily agreed, and waved Wilf goodbye. As soon as Wilf was out of sight he hastened back to Donna. He needed some answers from her.

"What was all that hogwash about sensory inputs?" she accused him as soon as he walked back through the bedroom door.

"Oh that!" He rubbed nervously his neck. "It was sort of true… wasn't it?"

"I'd have believed it during our _amazing mind-blowing sex_ time earlier; but afterwards? Seriously? Nah!" she reasoned as she placed her cup down.

"So what was it, because I get the feeling you know full well what the reason was," he countered.

"I might do," she answered as vaguely as she could.

"Donna!" he whined angrily at her.

She deliberately rolled her eyes at him. "Alright, I'll admit that I got an inkling of something that was…" She sat up straighter and took a breath. "Andy, I felt him. It was the Doctor, and I think he knows."

* * *

><p>It hit the Doctor with the full force of a cricket bat! Those little voices that had been whispering at him for days, if not weeks, weren't a figment of his imagination. Those voices were real and very insistent. Not with him, or about him, but merely through him.<p>

Now as he sat on his own without the idle chatter of companions and their fancy men (he was sure Rose had done that in an attempt to make him jealous) he could listen; really listen. And now that he had gained the chance he could not only make out certain words, but he could actually recognise who the voices belonged to. One of them seemed to belong to him, even though he didn't remember the conversations. But the other one was very particular and distinctive. It was Donna!

He pleaded with the TARDIS to tell him where she had obtained the voices from, without much luck, as she insisted it was nothing to do with her.

Oh Donna! How he missed her. Why had he been so keen to offload his duplicate onto her? Right now he really needed her advice, her steady view and her sarcasm. Yes, he'd never thought he would miss that aspect of her.

He'd thought that he needed sweetness and unconditional love; and not someone who would tear down his carefully built ideal world. He feared Donna would have done that to him. Instead he had done that himself. All those years of waiting and yearning; and all for nothing. Well, it seemed like nothing now.

He was back on his own. Rose had gone; sick of his half promises. Not gone forever; oh no! Rose wouldn't do that to him. She was having a break from him, reconnecting with family left behind. It was hard for her now that she couldn't go and see Jackie. He thought he could give her what she wanted but he was wrong. He knew more than anyone else that he wasn't a god, that his soul was a dark place inhabited by guilt and regret. He'd fooled and denied himself too often in the past. The last year had made things seem different; lightness had entered his life and he dared to think he could have something elusive. That thing called normality. Alas it was a dream built on shifting sand; and a part of him had realised that as soon as Donna had stepped out of the TARDIS. His conscience had flown.

Jealousy had occasionally poisoned his life after that. Questions like "What did Donna mean to you?", "Why were you constantly mistaken as a couple?", "Why did she kiss you?", "How well did she know you exactly?", on and on relentlessly. No matter how many times he denied any attraction, that they had been just mates, there was no convincing her. "But you keep on about ginger hair," she would argue. "She had your mind in hers" and the one she loved to throw in his face "She died for you in the parallel world" as if it was his fault she'd been so willing to sacrifice herself. It didn't matter how often he answered with "Rose, I chose you" she would still sulk and use her ultimate argument of "What about me?" during an argument; especially if he pointed out Donna had saved the universe so needed some kind thoughts about her. Maybe he shouldn't have said that, in hindsight. Yeah, he was an idiot.

The voices whispered again; their voices, including him and shutting him out at the same time. Each time the subtext subtly changed, becoming increasingly familiar, though he couldn't quite put his finger on the emotion. He didn't, until his body had unexpectedly responded and he was washed by such a powerful emotion his breath was almost snatched from his lungs, and that was saying something! At first he thought it was lust, and then he recognised it for what it truly was: love. Deep romantic love. Who had they fallen in love with?

The thought of Donna being deeply in love almost broke his hearts; she would never want to return to him if she had someone to replace him. Him. Did he have the right to even assume she had loved him? "I'm not having any of THAT nonsense," she had said; and she had kept to her word. She had never broken her promise of avoiding that direction.

He resolved to pay her one last visit. He pretended that it was to make sure she was okay, and give her a parting gift. The truth was that he hoped she would practically fall on him and ask to come back. That truth lay in a deep dark box among many other secrets and truths.

* * *

><p>The Doctor woke up in his favourite armchair with a start. All he could feel was pain; deep gut-ripping pain. "Donna!" he cried out as he recognised where the pain was coming from. Every part of him screamed in agony. Was this it? Was she dying; leaving him for the final time? He panted heavily, trying to control the physical onslaught so that he could head for the console room, and that's when he felt the other emotion that had been layered and hidden at first. It was from 'him', and 'he' was absolutely petrified! Not that the Doctor blamed him. He staggered to the controls and managed to tap something in when another, deeper pain rolled through him, and he blacked out.<p>

He came to lying face down on the console floor. The pain had gone; completely gone. There was nothing in its wake. "Donna?" he sobbed. It was over. She was probably dead, but he needed to know for sure. He needed to gaze upon her one more time just in case there was a glimmer of a hope that she was still breathing; could still recognise him. He was determined not to acknowledge any grief until he knew for sure, so with that in mind he opened the TARDIS doors and stepped out.

The Doctor approached the fairly nondescript house wondering if she'd really chosen this modest habitat. There was nothing remarkable about it all, from the terraced position to the bland exterior with its open blue door, privet hedge and wobbly gate. He knew she was there though, because he could quite easily smell her scent. It reminded him of… As he reached the house next-door a familiar ginger head appeared above a set of hands holding a pair of garden shears. 'You're alive!' he thought with absolute relief as he watched her, basking in the knowledge she was well.

"Take that! And that!" she playfully told the privet hedge as she trimmed it and lopped pieces off. "I'll show you, you great big…"

At that point she caught sight of him standing mere feet away, and the most beautiful smile he had ever seen lit up her face. "Hello you!" she greeted him brightly. "You never said you'd be back from Birmingham this early. Am I guessing right that you've got a lovely surprise for me?" Then her expression dropped and changed to thunder. "It's YOU!"

"Hello Donna," he returned her greeting cautiously.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU WANT?" she yelled at him as she stood up, stretching herself to her full height.

His first concern was the set of sharp shears in her hands; that is, it _was_ until he noticed the swell of her stomach as she stood. She was at least six months pregnant. Who the hell had done that to her? Had she gone and got married behind his back? "I came to see you," he replied as calmly as he could; but she wasn't paying him any attention. Instead her head was cocked towards the house.

"Oh for the love of… We've woken him up again and he's not been asleep long!" she remarked crossly. She shot him a glare and made for the door. After a few seconds he followed her in and stood awkwardly in the narrow passageway by a set of equally narrow stairs.

"Donna," he started to say when she reappeared at the living room door, but his words were ripped away by the vision of the young child in her arms. The boy blinked at him with large anxious brown eyes; his little button nose and pale pink cheeks made him look adorable! "Is he yours?" he asked softly.

"Of course he's mine! Did you think I went and stole him from someone? Or did some sort of Madonna job?" she demanded. The child agitatedly fidgeted, but she rested her forehead against his and he instantly quietened.

The Doctor was shocked to hear her quite clearly in his mind humming to the boy; lulling him into a shallow sleep. "He's…," he blurted out.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "So don't go getting me riled or I'll let him throw a hissy fit while I waltz off."

He could feel her tampering down a rage he had only ever known in himself. "I need to apologise."

She snorted like a frenzied horse at him. "And the rest!" It was only then that she thought to peer behind him. "Where's Rose? Where is she then? Why are you here on your own?"

"I... I needed to see you. I… I thought you were dead," he reluctantly admitted.

"Was that wishful thinking?" she immediately shot at him. "You didn't seem all that bothered last time I saw you."

"Donna! That's unfair," he growled at her.

"Cos you're all about being fair, aren't you? How fair was it to chuck us out of the TARDIS? I can understand you wanting to do it to me, but why do that to him? He was so innocent. And you just abandoned him without a backward glance." There was suppressed rage rolling off her now, along with… something else… such utter disappointment. She really wished the tears that threatened to spill would bugger off. Instead, she pressed her lips to her sleeping son's head, grounding herself in the need to keep herself together for him.

* * *

><p>Andy knew there was something amiss before he entered the house. Donna rushed to greet him, her need for comfort tangible as they shared a greeting kiss. <em>He's here! He found us about half an hour ago,<em> she informed him.

_Where is he? _he demanded, feeling protective anger swell in him.

_In there!_ Her mind showed him where the Doctor was standing, watching their son in awe.

"Hello!" the Doctor greeted him as he entered, but Andy wasn't in the mood for civilities; and before the Doctor knew it Andy had landed a punch fair and square on his face.


	8. Chapter 9

**Warning:** Contains angst.

**A/N:** Here it is… the end. I hoped you enjoyed the journey.

* * *

><p><strong>Part 9<strong>

.

Andy sneered down at the Doctor's prone figure. "Good to see you too, Doctor." Then he felt Donna's tender touch; on his hand, his mind, and on his soul. He closed his eyes as she mentally wrapped herself protectively around him, easing out the anger and letting their love trickle in.

_It's just you; it's only ever been you for me,_ she crooned into his mind.

He couldn't bear not to touch her properly then, to know it was true. Without taking any notice of the Doctor watching them with astonishment, nor caring if he was harmed or not, Andy swept Donna up into a passionate embrace, kissing her deeply. _Why did he have to come back now? Why?_

_Knowing him he probably meant to have come back two years ago,_ she teased, glad to feel an answering chuckle from him.

"I am still here," the Doctor pointed out testily. "And I can hear you despite your best efforts to shut me out."

"Dad-dy!" wailed the small body lying on the settee. He rubbed his eyes anxiously and looked from Andy to the Doctor and back again, bewilderment etched on his little face. The Doctor tried to smile at him encouragingly, but the boy scowled at him and put his hands out towards Andy.

"There there," Andy reached out to sooth him. "Daddy's got you now." He hugged the boy close to him and kissed his head. "The man won't hurt you; he's your…" Andy frowned as he thought about how he should refer to the Doctor. "What do you want us to call you? Are you an uncle or his grandfather?"

The Doctor spluttered in surprise. "Well I… erm… I'm not… I suppose I'm… Can't he just call me the Doctor?"

"Typical, Spaceman!" Donna griped, leaning forward to kiss her son too. "God forbid someone should think you are family."

"Uncle!" he instantly decided. "Tell him I'm his uncle. That doesn't sound too bad."

"Yeah, I can imagine Rose wouldn't be pleased being called a grandmother," Donna remarked, and got a smirk from Andy.

The Doctor, however, shot her daggers. Instead he decided to change the subject. "What's the deal with you two? When did this happen?"

"Are you asking specific dates and times because you ain't gonna get 'em," Donna huffed. "And I'm too knackered to keep standing around while you babble on avoiding the obvious."

"Oh I'm sorry! You should be sitting down, resting your legs, and… things," the Doctor leapt forward to assist her.

As soon as he touched her hand Donna flinched back. It wasn't that she wanted to avoid his touch, though a part of her wanted to punish him by not giving him the satisfaction of gaining any comfort from her; it was the physical affect it had on her. She thought Andy touching her was electrifying, but the Doctor caused something miles crazier. And she knew the Doctor had felt it too, judging by the way he was averting his gaze. Oh she knew him of old! He was hiding something.

"You sit down and I'll go make the tea," Andy offered, helping her to sit comfortably by placing cushions around her, and then placing their son onto her lap.

"Thank you," Donna told him gratefully. She was smiling wistfully at him when the Doctor spoke, grabbing her attention.

"Aren't you going to introduce me?" he asked pointedly.

"What do you mean? You already know us," she answered vaguely.

He held in a laugh. "I mean this young man. I don't know his name; but he's testing me out. I can feel him nudging my mind."

"You mean our little monkey here?" The boy looked up at Donna wide-eyed and innocently, as only children can do. "This is Michael Peter Noble; isn't it?" she asked as she tickled Mikey's neck, and he gave a squeal of delight. "And this, Mikey, is your brand new uncle, the Doctor."

The Doctor knelt down and shook Mikey's tiny hand. Mikey drew his hand hastily back as though he'd had a shock, and scowled at the Doctor some more; refusing to speak.

"What? I didn't cause it to happen!" the Doctor defended himself to the boy. "Okay, I sort of did; but I didn't mean to."

"Story of your life," Donna remarked. "What else haven't you meant to do since I last saw you?"

"Er… nothing much! Lost the city of Atlantis, again; been strawberry picking in the Arctic…"

"Like you do," interjected Donna.

He paused as though he was going to say something, but obviously changed his mind. "We crampled on the planet Vilantos…"

"Sounds painful," she commented.

"Donna! Are you going to do this to me all the time?" he whined.

"Depends how daft you sound," she argued. "Why don't you just spit it out and tell us the real reason you are here?"

After all this time she still knew him. "I... er… I wanted… I want to take you away from all this," he admitted.

"Am I included in that invite?" Andy asked irritably as he appeared carrying three mugs of tea and an orange juice.

"Of course," the Doctor didn't hastily add. He turned to Donna, knowing he could persuade her. "You don't want to stay here, in this domestic setting. I mean… Come on! This isn't exactly the Ritz; and you love travelling. All those planets waiting out there for you walk on them with your human feet."

"Carrying my Time Human brain," Donna retorted. "The same Time Human brain that needs Andy to stay with me."

"Who's Andy?" The Doctor shot her a puzzled look. "Oh I see! You're Andy," he said, pointing at Andy with his index finger. "Well, yes, I'm sure the TARDIS will accommodate all of you."

"If you're worried he'll snatch Rose away from you, just come out and say it," Donna told him. "We don't have any secrets… a bit hard to these days." She then turned her gaze onto Andy. "If he develops feelings for Rose then I'm doomed anyway. I don't think he would stray, but…"

Andy looked heartbroken as he pulled Donna's body against him on the settee. _How can you even think that? All that was such a long time ago and stopped as soon as we slept together._

"What? How quickly did that happen?" the Doctor demanded to know. "Did I unleash a sex fiend on you?"

"No! Oh goodness no!" Donna spluttered. "We didn't sleep together until we got the flat, and even then it was…" She halted. "Why the hell am I telling you this? It's none of your business what we did and when! You left us here for years on end, so of course we formed a home and a family of our own. What else were we supposed to do? We can't live in a cage like a pet hamster waiting for you to decide to play with us!"

"Donna? Andy?" called out a voice from the passage outside. "It's only Jean! I hope you don't mind but you left the door open." She shuffled in, and was most anxious when she saw the Doctor sitting there. "I'm sorry; I didn't know you had company."

"That's okay, Jean," Andy immediately got up and greeted her. "Sit down. We're having a bit of a family reunion." He ushered her to sit down. "In fact we haven't seen each other in years; not since the year we moved into the flat. This is my brother, Doctor…. John. Doctor, this is Jean," he made the introductions.

The Doctor shook hands with her. "Lovely to meet you, Jean," he enthused with his usual charm. "Have you been taking good care of my brother Andrew."

Jean went into raptures then. "Two doctors in the family! How wonderful. Are you a degree type doctor too? He's such a darling, your brother. Any little job that needs doing, he's round like a shot to help. I was worried when Andy and Donna started all that noise from the bedroom, but he soon explained about their experiments and gave me these lovely ear plugs." She took a sip from the cup of tea Andy handed her. "And then I got to know your grandfather and mother. Well, it's been delightful!"

Donna had felt the Doctor's reaction to 'your grandfather and mother', knowing she'd have to explain, and use, that one on him. She almost couldn't wait! _Yes, she thinks Mum is your mother,_ she pushed at him.

_Why did you let her do that?_ he asked in horror. "Yes, young Andrew has always been helpful," the Doctor agreed.

Donna gave him a mental shrug._ It seemed right at the time, especially as she lets him call her 'Mum'._

She couldn't hold back her mental laughter when he burst out with, _She does WHAT?_

"You must have lots of things to talk over, so I'll leave you to it," Jean said, finishing her tea and making to stand up. "I'll pop round tomorrow instead, Donna." She chatted on to Andy about her rattling letterbox as he showed her to the door.

Donna took the opportunity to ask softly, "You've not told her about this visit, have you? Why haven't you?"

"I… erm… she's having a few days off, gone to visit relatives, and have a bit of a breather," he reluctantly admitted. "She's having a more difficult time being back with me than we'd anticipated."

"So you came to find a friendly face, someone to tell you that you're not in the wrong, and point you in the right direction," Donna guessed.

He looked very sheepish. "Something like that."

"And how would she really cope if I suddenly turn up like this, with what looks like an instant family that you're part of?" She shook her head at him in disbelief. "You need to talk to her about us first otherwise you could ruin everything."

"If I do that, would you consider coming back?" He glanced up at her hopefully. "I've missed you."

Oh gawd! She'd never expected him to admit something like that; never in a million years. "And I've missed you," she replied quietly. "But don't think you're completely forgiven yet."

He chuckled. "You've got a nice setup here; it looks very homely."

"Is that polite talk for 'this is a dump'?" she asked archly. "Andy earns good money, but London is expensive to live in. This is all we could afford."

"No! I didn't mean it like that," he said, but his mind was telling her otherwise, like his need to change the subject. "What was that about experiments in the bedroom?"

"The usual temporal shift to resonate the parameters of co-endrontrascular introflux," Andy supplied as he joined them with fresh tea. He handed a cup to the Doctor. "I thought you'd need another cup by now."

The Doctor gratefully took it. "You've got it working? Where is she?" he asked enthusiastically.

Andy pointed upwards towards a bedroom. "Ah, not in the way we'd like; but we've extended the growth rate, so that…," he looked at his watch, "…we've got another three years."

The Doctor laughed heartily. "Well, I must say, I never thought you'd have your own TARDIS within such a short time scale," he said with awe.

"That's what happens when you have two decent brains working on it," Andy replied smugly.

The Doctor smiled wistfully at Donna. "Yes, I forget at times."

_MY MUMMY!_ shot into their heads from a little person who wasn't as asleep as he looked, cuddled up against Donna's body, and lulled by the heartbeats beneath his ear.

The Doctor blushed with embarrassment. "Of course she is," he spluttered. "And on that note I'd better go and… have words." He reluctantly stood up, his desire to stay longer evident. "I'll come straight back when I can offer something more concrete. No, don't get up!" he told Donna as she struggled off the settee.

"And not see you out properly? Who do you think I am exactly?" she chided him, smiling at his agitation. She deliberately added to it by saying, "Especially now you're my brother."

The Doctor groaned. "I'll never live that one down. How could you?" he playfully asked Andy.

"It sort of happened," Andy defended himself. "I can't help it if she fell in love with me and adopted me as her own."

"After all she said about me!" he remarked to Donna incredulously.

_Nanny!_ Mikey bounced up and down with delight at the thought of Sylvia.

Donna felt the strain of holding him and passed him into Andy's willing arms. "Take care of yourself, and come back to see us soon," she said turning to the Doctor; and impulsively threw her arms around him and hugged him tight because he looked as though he needed it from her.

Oh my goodness! He hadn't realised how much he had missed and needed one of her hugs. He probably held onto her much longer than he should have done, but the Doctor reasoned that he had lost time to make up for. He wrote the Gallifreyan symbols for 'missed you' on her lower back with a finger, needing to say something between the two of them; and was gratified to feel her answer 'and you' on his neck. He feigned a cough as he broke from her. "I'll be back before this one enters the world," he promised, in a slightly broken voice.

They said their general goodbyes then, and escorted the Doctor to the front door. "Bye!" Mikey waved madly, pleasing the departing Doctor enormously.

As soon as the Doctor dropped off their internal radar, Andy sagged against Donna. The tears were completed expected by her, and she transferred Mikey into her arms. "Tell me," she said gently.

He wrapped her in a fervent embrace as she was overwhelmed by his relief. "I thought he would whisk you away; take you away from me… forever," he confessed.

She gave a mirthless chuckle. "Why would I let him do that? We come as a package now; you and me, and baby makes three."

"Four," he reminded her, placing a protective hand on her stomach above their unborn child. "Sorry to spoil the rhyme."

"I'm not sorry. Some things deserve to be broken," she told him sincerely. "I love you, Earthman; and don't you forget it!"

He kissed her then, consoled that their future was together after all.

**The End** - for now

* * *

><p>This story is continued by <strong>KendraC<strong> in "Eyes Forced Open"


End file.
